I posted previously about all the winnings and good things going on. This evening I had to pick up son from girlfriend's house and then bring him to the house to pick up a few things so I could turn around and take him to his friend's house to spend the night. On the way home, I stopped at the post office since I've not checked it in a couple of days. It was full of fun envelopes and not so fun ones (those are the pesky bills). One of the fun ones was my second place story, "Zombies Amuck," with the judge's comments and my check for winning ($20 for second place; first place person received $30). It's fun trying to decipher the comments made but for the most part they pertained to expanding more, describing more, give more detail, et cetera.
Two of my favorite comments were here: (this is right after George, the main character tries to keep Amy and William, his two best friends, away from the family plot so they don't discover he's a zombie)
"Well, I've seen plenty of graves and there's nothing special about that little plot back there. Figured we should just move on and go find some more interesting ones."
Amy finally caught up to us, her face ashen like she had seen a ghost, or a zombie. (Judge's comment - Good image)
He did say a little further on that I had use of dialog (whew - because that's what I use most in my stories - lol).
And his final comment: Very interesting story. You develop interesting characters and an element of mystery & surprise in the story. I enjoyed it!
I think if we had a another thousand words I could have developed and expanded the areas that he felt needed more description. As is, the story limit was 2000 words and I came in at 1793 words (so guess I did have a bit more to play with but I don't like really cutting right up the max limit). So now I have a certificate and a story with comments for my entry and who knows, next year I may do it again.
I like getting packages like this in the mail - see you all in the postings - E :)
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What does the "butt in chair theory" mean to you?
Find out by stopping by Virginia Grenier's blog. She had posted this question on several forums and I responded to her. Come see what I had to say along with several other working/writer women. You may even be surprised by some of the responses. E :)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Counters, why do they differ?
I have a counter on both blogs and my website, set up through Amazing Counters as well as one on my website set up through weebly. I was looking at my statistics for the last few days, and this is what I've come up with:
Counters through Amazing Counters:
Website: From 05/16 through yesterday I had 5, 5, 2, 6, 8, 6 and 18
JGDS Blog: Same dates, I had 11, 12, 18, 16, 29, 13 and 26
EEC blog: Same dates, I had 2, 5, 2, 1, 8, 5 and 2
On weebly's counter on my JGDS website, same dates, I had 12, 29, 18, 36, 31, 26 and 64.
Now I don't know about you all but that's quite a difference in hits on my website from both counters. So if anyone knows the answer to that, please leave a comment so I can stop fretting about the peculiar way the counters are adding visits or hits to my sites.
And I will be reaching a milestone for the JGDS blog hits within the next few months. Maybe I'll run acontest or something for hitting 5000 visits to my blog. I'd like to see more followers and more email subscribers over there also. I'm thinking this summer, I will definitely need to run a contest/competition or whatever to try to get more readers/followers/email subscribers, especially since I will be doing several homeschool conferences and there are at least two new titles coming within the next month to month and a half, with one more coming shortly after that. I'm still thinking on this, but I'll keep you all informed on what I decide to do - E :)
And the winning continues
I'm a member of the Foothills Writers' Guild and every spring and fall a members' only contest is held. In the fall, the following categories are available to compete in: Poetry (Guild Prize, Muses Prize, Jean Brabham McKinney Prize, and Children's Poetry Prize), Prose - Fiction (Arrows to Atoms Priza) and Nonfiction (Freedom Prize and President's Choice Prize). In the spring the following categories are available to compete in: Poetry (Archibald Rutledge Prize, Pegasus Prize, Dramatic Poem Prize, and Carolina Prize) and Prose Fiction (Betsy Byars Prize, Sandlapper Prize, O. Henry Prize) and Nonfiction (Gus Wentz Prize).
I entered the Betsy Byars Prize this past spring and won second place (since there were only two winners, I can only guess that only two of us entered this short story for children category as I understand that in some of the past years there have been no entries in this category), which pays out $20.
I'm having fun - lol - see you all in the postings - E :)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Winner, again!
Talk about it being a good week all around - I've won a second book - a signed galley of Marshall Karp's Cut, Paste, Kill. From the website, here is the original posting with my response. Don't know why I posted a response but it sounded like fun. I apparently was following M. J. Rose's sites stumbling on this contest. The solutions and ad man's answer can be found here, which I like much better than my puny little answer - but it was a starting point I guess. Of course they are advertising gurus, whereas I am not. I do what I can and have very little budget. Maybe I should see if he would do an advertising campaign for my series - lol.
WEEKLY WRAPUP OF GOOD THINGS:
1) I won a copy of Reading Magic by Mem Fox from the Indie-Debut 2010 site (see my posting on the other blog)
2) I've been sending out an email campaign to homeschool associations/groups and so far have hit 25 of the listed 53 states/territories in a total of 11 emails and some of the email addresses are bouncing back but some are bringing in results
a) I've been asked to advertise on The Link Magazine website but I can't afford advertising right now, so will have to wait for that
b) I've been asked to join the H.E.R.I. convention in Jacksonville, FL in July as a vendor (I had considered this one recently but because of the deadline being a couple of weeks ago and me not having the funds at the time, decided to forego this one this year) but they will take applications through the 1st of July, which helps me since I can probably swing the fees by then
c) I've been asked to consider attending another conference next year (this year's has already happeened) in Illinois as a vendor (this one being a 12+ hour drive, I really need to think about this; perhaps they will have an advertising campaign that I can participate in)
d) From the email campaign, received a response stating that she had passed info to other members in the group and that her daughter loves geography and history and that they would be using my books to study US History in the fall - I told her about the special deal I had going right now, and she placed an order (my first sale for Reservations) this morning - woohoo - go me!!! - (for more information on this, please see my other blog for a "Sweet Deal" - the deal has been extended to June 5, so order your copies in the next two weeks)
3) I won a copy Marshall Karp's book as listed above.
Hopefully the emails will pay off in the long run and Reservations will be in my hands by the 15th of June and Altitude will be available shortly after that. I'll keep you all posted (on the JGDS blog) when books are available. E :) - ((((((doing the happy dance, has won two books and things are looking up for the series))))))
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Winner!
Well, First I didn't know I was even entered for a drawing of anything when I posted my comments but when I was contacted by the person for my address, I was like - wow - I won and didn't even try to win - lol. Check out Indie Debut's 2010 posting on what I've won. Thanks, Donna McDine, for posting the wonderful topic which led me to write an article for the VBT Writers on the Move this month. The original discussion on Indie Debut's 2010 site can be found here.
Check out my other blog for a limited time sweet deal on the first three books in my series. Deal is good through midnight tomorrow night. Come on over and order your copies today. E :)
On being human
I received this posting from Heidi Thomas, author of Cowgirl Dreams this morning and felt that it was worth sharing with you all. Hope you enjoy. E :)
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Is Free Profitable by author Dana Donovan
Ten years ago I finished my first book, "Attraction of Blood". Since then I have written another ten books, taking time between each to author the perfect query letter design to hook a literary agent into selling my work. Typically, after a hundred or so rejection letters, I convince myself that maybe this book doesn't have what it takes to go mainstream, and so I endeavor to write a better, more marketable novel that no agent in his right mind can pass up. Such has been the endless cycle of the last decade.
Naturally, amid all the writing and querying, I am also self promoting, self publishing and self marketing. For most of you, this is nothing new. That you are reading this now is likely because you are a member of VBT or some other writers group and by being here, you are presently engaged in this very practices.
So my topic today is more of a question, which I will pose after sharing this observation with you. It is something I have noticed this past year having participated in the monthly rotation of hosting and being hosted on the "Writers on the Move Virtual Book Tour." There seems to be two equally interesting facets to the typical format that participating members employ when featured on the tour.
First is the self promoting format. I love this type. Except for the newest members to the VBT community, I have stopped by all your blogs and met (I think) everyone in the group. The diversity amazes me. The wealth of talent assembled within this micro community inspires and encourages me to plow ahead whenever I feel deflated by the infinite dead ends I hit in my efforts to further a career still in-waiting. So to all of you I say thanks. Your good-fellowship is priceless and heart warming.
The second format that I see employed in these tours is the academic side. Though I love the self promoting facet, I especially appreciate the brass tacks, tactile, take it and run advice that some of you offer when your turn comes up in rotation. I am talking about the helpful hints and pointers offered as a means to further one's career, to move one beyond the rut that we all sometimes find ourselves in. Stephen Tremp does this well, so does Marvin Wilson, the Old Silly. Last week I hosted Mayra Calvani who also shared with us her tips on helping us dig out of our ruts by cultivating the right mood for the type of writing we are trying to express. Karen, Lea, Maggie; you too work the ropes expertly. Truth is that many of you thoughtfully share tips with us of things that have worked for you.
It is in that spirit that I attempt to share with you something that has recently worked for me in gaining exposure as an author, and by extension, sales of my books. My suspicion is that this may not, in fact, be news for some of you, but hopefully it will be for others.
What is this cool marketing tool? Perhaps not so surprisingly, it is the oldest marketing tool in business, used by corporations large and small, by emerging young enterprises, pushcart street vendors and even (though I don't condone it) by illegal drug dealers. I am talking about the Free Sample, the Buy-One-Get-One and the outright Free-No-Questions-Asked promotions.
Like many of you, I am self published and have listed electronic versions of my books on, among other places, Smashwords. I applaud their concept: read half free, buy the rest if you like it. It is not original. I know that. Frankly I have used that same marketing strategy on my on website for years. But I have recently taken that construct to another level. Instead of letting a prospective buyer read only some of the manuscript (book), I let them read all of it. Better still, I let them read a second one as well, absolutely free. The hook is the same. If they like it, they will buy more. What I have found, however, is that if they like an entire book (or two) they are far more likely to buy additional books from you than they are if given only half. Trust me on this. I have really followed this closely.
To be clear, again we are talking about ebooks only now. Naturally, print copies are out of the question. That said, I can tell you that sales of my ebooks on Smashwords have been fair, especially compared to e-versions at Lulu. In the first few months on Smashwords, where nine of my books are listed, I averaged one thousand sample downloads, resulting in six books actually sold. A little over a month ago I made available the first two books of my Detective Marcella Paranormal Mysteries series totally free. This resulted in a virtual flood of ebook downloads (nearly 8000 in six weeks), which translated into one hundred and seventy eight sold copies of my other books!
Of course, this does not work well if you only have one book, but it does if you have two or more, which many of you have. Now I know that no author relishes giving away her hard work for free, but the exposure to a mass audience is something I am willing to compromise on. The sales this month of my ebooks on Smashwords by far eclipses the sale of those same books on Lulu in the past ten years. Does that mean it is right for you? Maybe not, but I thought I would share my thoughts on the matter just the same.
So now my question. What practice do you employ to bolster sales of your books, and how well is it working?
Naturally, amid all the writing and querying, I am also self promoting, self publishing and self marketing. For most of you, this is nothing new. That you are reading this now is likely because you are a member of VBT or some other writers group and by being here, you are presently engaged in this very practices.
So my topic today is more of a question, which I will pose after sharing this observation with you. It is something I have noticed this past year having participated in the monthly rotation of hosting and being hosted on the "Writers on the Move Virtual Book Tour." There seems to be two equally interesting facets to the typical format that participating members employ when featured on the tour.
First is the self promoting format. I love this type. Except for the newest members to the VBT community, I have stopped by all your blogs and met (I think) everyone in the group. The diversity amazes me. The wealth of talent assembled within this micro community inspires and encourages me to plow ahead whenever I feel deflated by the infinite dead ends I hit in my efforts to further a career still in-waiting. So to all of you I say thanks. Your good-fellowship is priceless and heart warming.
The second format that I see employed in these tours is the academic side. Though I love the self promoting facet, I especially appreciate the brass tacks, tactile, take it and run advice that some of you offer when your turn comes up in rotation. I am talking about the helpful hints and pointers offered as a means to further one's career, to move one beyond the rut that we all sometimes find ourselves in. Stephen Tremp does this well, so does Marvin Wilson, the Old Silly. Last week I hosted Mayra Calvani who also shared with us her tips on helping us dig out of our ruts by cultivating the right mood for the type of writing we are trying to express. Karen, Lea, Maggie; you too work the ropes expertly. Truth is that many of you thoughtfully share tips with us of things that have worked for you.
It is in that spirit that I attempt to share with you something that has recently worked for me in gaining exposure as an author, and by extension, sales of my books. My suspicion is that this may not, in fact, be news for some of you, but hopefully it will be for others.
What is this cool marketing tool? Perhaps not so surprisingly, it is the oldest marketing tool in business, used by corporations large and small, by emerging young enterprises, pushcart street vendors and even (though I don't condone it) by illegal drug dealers. I am talking about the Free Sample, the Buy-One-Get-One and the outright Free-No-Questions-Asked promotions.
Like many of you, I am self published and have listed electronic versions of my books on, among other places, Smashwords. I applaud their concept: read half free, buy the rest if you like it. It is not original. I know that. Frankly I have used that same marketing strategy on my on website for years. But I have recently taken that construct to another level. Instead of letting a prospective buyer read only some of the manuscript (book), I let them read all of it. Better still, I let them read a second one as well, absolutely free. The hook is the same. If they like it, they will buy more. What I have found, however, is that if they like an entire book (or two) they are far more likely to buy additional books from you than they are if given only half. Trust me on this. I have really followed this closely.
To be clear, again we are talking about ebooks only now. Naturally, print copies are out of the question. That said, I can tell you that sales of my ebooks on Smashwords have been fair, especially compared to e-versions at Lulu. In the first few months on Smashwords, where nine of my books are listed, I averaged one thousand sample downloads, resulting in six books actually sold. A little over a month ago I made available the first two books of my Detective Marcella Paranormal Mysteries series totally free. This resulted in a virtual flood of ebook downloads (nearly 8000 in six weeks), which translated into one hundred and seventy eight sold copies of my other books!
Of course, this does not work well if you only have one book, but it does if you have two or more, which many of you have. Now I know that no author relishes giving away her hard work for free, but the exposure to a mass audience is something I am willing to compromise on. The sales this month of my ebooks on Smashwords by far eclipses the sale of those same books on Lulu in the past ten years. Does that mean it is right for you? Maybe not, but I thought I would share my thoughts on the matter just the same.
So now my question. What practice do you employ to bolster sales of your books, and how well is it working?
Dana E. Donovan,
author of the Detective Marcella Paranormal Mysteries series
Resurrection, Abandoned, Skinny and more.
Paperbacks
e-books
free downloads>
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Prom 2010
I haven't posted much on the kids lately but just got this picture of daughter and her boyfriend at prom. Aren't they adorable? I like the dress she finally decided on, although the other one she had bought was very pretty. I'd like to see it on the girl she lent it to so that I know it wasn't a wasted purchase. E :)
Monday, May 03, 2010
Meet Author Dana Donovan
Dana will be my guest author on May 6. Check out how he's turned "free promotion" into a profit. Here is a bit about Dana and his books:Dana Donovan grew up in New England where folklore and superstitions can mold a town’s history as much as its people. Here, in the fictitious town on New Castle, Dana exploits that phenomenon, perpetuating the enigma of small town life and the belief in all that dies is not dead.
Books by this author include: Abandoned, A Talisman’s tale, Resurrection, Skinny, Death & Other Little Inconveniences, The Witch’s Ladder, Eye of the Witch, The Witch’s Key, Bones of a Witch, and soon to be released Witch House. For more about the author, stop by his website.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wiffiti
Q: Wiffiti?
A: Wi-Fi/graffiti
Okay, it's a funny sounding name and probably hasn't made the rounds yet but according to SLJ's article "Cell phones in the classroom? Wiffiti says yes," this new method of using cells phones in the classroom (for educational purposes, not just to have them in the class) is the new and upocming thing. For more, check out the article by clicking the linked SLJ's above.
I checked out Wiffiti's site a little and I can see this being used for brainstorming, especially in a writing class or even, as one teacher used it for, as help tool for foreign language classes.
There are probably as many uses for cell phones in the classroom as there are schools and teachers. Check it out and see what you think. I'd love to hear some of your opinions on this. Leave a comment - E :)
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day 2010
Today is earth day and according to one site I happened upon today, this is the 40th year we have been celebrating earth day. I think earth day really came to be known as such within the last ten years or so. What all are you doing to save the earth?
While I was out briefly around noon time today, I was thinking of ways I could help save the earth. It's 3/4 of the way through April and in the South, it starts really warming up here, although my hormones are changing (not for the better at this point in my life), just leaving my car parked in an unshaded area for about 15 or 20 minutes I found it rather warm when I got back in. I hadn't been running my car air conditioner (certainly not the one at home since it's still pretty chilly in my downstairs work/sleep area) very much and I had to turn it on for a couple of minutes to cool the car down and I thought - what's a person in the south to do when it's hot and humid and all the pollen is out and making breathing intolerable without air conditioning. I didn't really want to turn it on, but had no choice because if I had opened my windows, I probably would have sneezed all the way home from the grocery store and wouldn't have been able to see too well driving.
So although I only ran the air conditioning a couple of minutes to help quelch the heat in the car, I wasn't doing anything to save the earth. But I'm trying to do better.
Recycle your plastic water bottles and use them every day (they make great trip bottles to pack in a cooler and have water handy in your vehicle for emergencies). Don't send them to the landfills. Turn off lights when not needed. Don't open and close the refrigerator a lot looking for something to eat.
No matter how small you think the deed is, if it helps save the earth, do it. So what are you doing in honor of earth day? Mrs. E :)
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Blog tour time
Just a reminder that I'm featured on Martha Swirzinski's blog today with an interview by her daughter and a short review of the first two books. Stop by and leave a comment - E :)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
New Phone Number - xposted
If you have my old phone number and have not received an email or seen the announcement on my facebook page, please visit my website for an updated phone number. Apparently there was a reactivation error (more like computer glitch) which failed to allow me to activate my phone with the same number today and the only way to have an active phone was to get a new number. If you need to contact me by phone, the number is on the home page and school visits page of my website. Otherwise, you can always contact me by email at eeldering@gmail.com - thanks - E :)
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Peggy Fieland on National Poetry Month
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
by Peggy Fieland
When was the last time you read a poem? If you're like many of us, it was when your teacher made you do it. If that's so, you're missing one of life's great pleasures. Now a days, it's easier than ever to find poetry. One place to start is the website of the Academy of American Poets. There you can find biographies of American poets, poetry, books for sale, a calendar of events, and much more. You can even search the website for a particular poet or poem.
April is National Poetry month here in the United States and we can all help celebrate it by welcoming poetry into our lives.. First celebrated in 1996, National Poetry Month was conceived by the Academy of American Poets as a way for poets, poetry publishers, booksellers, libraries, and individuals to promote poetry and its place in our lives with poetry readings, workshops, festivals and other events. Some of its goals are :
Showcase American poets, past and present
Promote the pleasures of reading poetry and encourage indivivuals to read more poetry
Find new ways to bring poets and poetry to the attention of the public
Encourage the teaching of poetry in our schools
Promote greater media coverage of poetry
Increase sales of poetry books, and widen their availability
Increase public and private monetary support for poetry and poets
So what can you do? You can buy a poetry book or magazine, or borrow one or two from your library and read them. You can memorize a poem, recite a poem, write a poem, attend a poetry festival or a poetry reading, or contribute to a poetry organization, and lots more. If you're in need of ideas, the Academy of American Poetry has a list of 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month, one for each day of the month of April. Here is the link.
If you haven't read much poetry lately, you might be at a loss of where to start. One way is to check out an anthology of poetry from your local library, or pick one up at your local bookstore. Then read through it, and see which poets you enjoy reading. I usually have a stack of poetry books I'm reading, and have one or more in my briefcase. I find it's a great way to pass the time while waiting for appointments. Reading one poet leads me to another, and on and on. I generally have three or four checked out of my local library. In fact, the libraries around here have a network and a website where it's easy to search for books, request them, and have them delivered to my local library for pickup.
Want to find more poets to read? Here are a few ideas:
Since 1937 the USA has had a consultant (old title) or Poet Laureate who serves for a year (or several years). Here is a timeline, including some information about each of the poets.
You might start by reading about Kay Ryan, the current Poet Laurate.
Here is a link to the website for the Canadian Parlimentary Poet Laureate. The current Canadian Poet Laureate is Pierre DesRuisseaux.
England has had a Poet Laureate for hundreds of years. The current Poet Laureate is Carol Ann Duffy.
Did you have to memorize poetry in school? I did, and I can still recite a lot of it by heart. Consider trying to memorize a few of your favorite poems. Start by reading the poem over several time, then read it out loud. Try reading it several times a day for a week or so and you'll probably find you can recite by heart. Or you can start by copying your favorite poems into a notebook that you can carry around with you and read whenever you like.
Maybe you'll even write a few poems. I still write poems for family holidays and birthdays, whenever someone at my office is leaving, or whatever. It doesn't take much of an excuse to get me to pick up my pen and write a poem.
And here, in case you're interested in reading more about them, is an article about limericks:
Here is a poem I penned (So here, just for grins, is one for y'all):
Amusing Muse
One day while walking the dog
I happened to sit on a log.
I thought of a ditty,
though short, it was witty,
about rainy weather and fog.
I ran home to write my poem down.
When writing I started to frown.
My poem wasn't right.
My verse was quite slight.
I started messing around.
I started by making conversions.
Soon I had several more versions.
I'd nothing to loose,
I didn't choose,
I kept them all just for diversion.
If you're inspired one night,
sit up and turn on the light.
Don't be averse
to writing a verse,
you might be surprised what you'll write.
PEGGY'S BIOGRAPHY: Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has been around art and music all her life. Daughter of a painter, she is the mother of three grown sons and an accomplished flute and piccolo player. She is an avid science fiction fan, and selected Robert A. Heinlein's ?Farmer in the Sky? for her tenth birthday, now long past. She lives in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and seven dogs. Her poems, articles and stories have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Main Channel Voices, Echolocation, and Twisted Tongue. In spite of making her living as a computer software engineer, she turned to one of her sons to format the initial version of her website, a clear illustration of the computer generation gap. You may visit her website.
Peggy on Writing Math Poems:
Writing math poems
My undergrad major was mathematics and my grad degree is in computer science, so in a way I'm a natural to be writing poems about mathematics. However, I started writing poetry as a teenager to express the usual teen angst and went on to write poetry for family holidays and the like and when I started writing poetry for publication it was about family and personal life. I never even considered writing poetry about mathematics.
I did, however, write "Round". Round was sparked by my memory of a discussion in a college physics class about the rate at which a cup of coffee would cool and how the shape of the cup played into it. I didn't love college physics, and this was easily the most memorable thing in the whole course. The other thing was a memory from a math class about the sphere having the least surface area per unit volume of any solid figure.
So I wrote "Round" and sent it off and it was accepted. A friend read it and pronounced the finest math poem she'd ever read.
Huh? This is a math poem? She did manage to convince me, and to consider writing a series of them. When I started on the series, I went looking for books on the history of mathematics, and found mighty slim pickings. One book on the story of counting for kids and one or two fairly serious, heavy tomes for grownups. I did find a few interesting articles online, but not a book of the kind I wanted.
I had initially intended not to submit any of the poems to journals, as I intend to publish them as a collection. I did submit several to Umbrella for the special school subjects fall issue and had two accepted, and submitted five this past October to the winter issue of Cyclamens and Swords (yet to appear), as the theme, ticklish subjects, seemed another good fit. I've subbed a query to one publisher and had them reply asking for some sample poems, which I sent them, and am still waiting to hear back. I'm also working on a MG/YA novel about a girl who wants to go to Music camp, and continuing to write poetry.
There is, however, still that little voice that says I should write that non-fiction math book for kids I couldn't find.
by Peggy Fieland
When was the last time you read a poem? If you're like many of us, it was when your teacher made you do it. If that's so, you're missing one of life's great pleasures. Now a days, it's easier than ever to find poetry. One place to start is the website of the Academy of American Poets. There you can find biographies of American poets, poetry, books for sale, a calendar of events, and much more. You can even search the website for a particular poet or poem.
April is National Poetry month here in the United States and we can all help celebrate it by welcoming poetry into our lives.. First celebrated in 1996, National Poetry Month was conceived by the Academy of American Poets as a way for poets, poetry publishers, booksellers, libraries, and individuals to promote poetry and its place in our lives with poetry readings, workshops, festivals and other events. Some of its goals are :
Showcase American poets, past and present
Promote the pleasures of reading poetry and encourage indivivuals to read more poetry
Find new ways to bring poets and poetry to the attention of the public
Encourage the teaching of poetry in our schools
Promote greater media coverage of poetry
Increase sales of poetry books, and widen their availability
Increase public and private monetary support for poetry and poets
So what can you do? You can buy a poetry book or magazine, or borrow one or two from your library and read them. You can memorize a poem, recite a poem, write a poem, attend a poetry festival or a poetry reading, or contribute to a poetry organization, and lots more. If you're in need of ideas, the Academy of American Poetry has a list of 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month, one for each day of the month of April. Here is the link.
If you haven't read much poetry lately, you might be at a loss of where to start. One way is to check out an anthology of poetry from your local library, or pick one up at your local bookstore. Then read through it, and see which poets you enjoy reading. I usually have a stack of poetry books I'm reading, and have one or more in my briefcase. I find it's a great way to pass the time while waiting for appointments. Reading one poet leads me to another, and on and on. I generally have three or four checked out of my local library. In fact, the libraries around here have a network and a website where it's easy to search for books, request them, and have them delivered to my local library for pickup.
Want to find more poets to read? Here are a few ideas:
Since 1937 the USA has had a consultant (old title) or Poet Laureate who serves for a year (or several years). Here is a timeline, including some information about each of the poets.
You might start by reading about Kay Ryan, the current Poet Laurate.
Here is a link to the website for the Canadian Parlimentary Poet Laureate. The current Canadian Poet Laureate is Pierre DesRuisseaux.
England has had a Poet Laureate for hundreds of years. The current Poet Laureate is Carol Ann Duffy.
Did you have to memorize poetry in school? I did, and I can still recite a lot of it by heart. Consider trying to memorize a few of your favorite poems. Start by reading the poem over several time, then read it out loud. Try reading it several times a day for a week or so and you'll probably find you can recite by heart. Or you can start by copying your favorite poems into a notebook that you can carry around with you and read whenever you like.
Maybe you'll even write a few poems. I still write poems for family holidays and birthdays, whenever someone at my office is leaving, or whatever. It doesn't take much of an excuse to get me to pick up my pen and write a poem.
And here, in case you're interested in reading more about them, is an article about limericks:
Here is a poem I penned (So here, just for grins, is one for y'all):
Amusing Muse
One day while walking the dog
I happened to sit on a log.
I thought of a ditty,
though short, it was witty,
about rainy weather and fog.
I ran home to write my poem down.
When writing I started to frown.
My poem wasn't right.
My verse was quite slight.
I started messing around.
I started by making conversions.
Soon I had several more versions.
I'd nothing to loose,
I didn't choose,
I kept them all just for diversion.
If you're inspired one night,
sit up and turn on the light.
Don't be averse
to writing a verse,
you might be surprised what you'll write.
PEGGY'S BIOGRAPHY: Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has been around art and music all her life. Daughter of a painter, she is the mother of three grown sons and an accomplished flute and piccolo player. She is an avid science fiction fan, and selected Robert A. Heinlein's ?Farmer in the Sky? for her tenth birthday, now long past. She lives in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and seven dogs. Her poems, articles and stories have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Main Channel Voices, Echolocation, and Twisted Tongue. In spite of making her living as a computer software engineer, she turned to one of her sons to format the initial version of her website, a clear illustration of the computer generation gap. You may visit her website.Peggy on Writing Math Poems:
Writing math poems
My undergrad major was mathematics and my grad degree is in computer science, so in a way I'm a natural to be writing poems about mathematics. However, I started writing poetry as a teenager to express the usual teen angst and went on to write poetry for family holidays and the like and when I started writing poetry for publication it was about family and personal life. I never even considered writing poetry about mathematics.
I did, however, write "Round". Round was sparked by my memory of a discussion in a college physics class about the rate at which a cup of coffee would cool and how the shape of the cup played into it. I didn't love college physics, and this was easily the most memorable thing in the whole course. The other thing was a memory from a math class about the sphere having the least surface area per unit volume of any solid figure.
So I wrote "Round" and sent it off and it was accepted. A friend read it and pronounced the finest math poem she'd ever read.
Huh? This is a math poem? She did manage to convince me, and to consider writing a series of them. When I started on the series, I went looking for books on the history of mathematics, and found mighty slim pickings. One book on the story of counting for kids and one or two fairly serious, heavy tomes for grownups. I did find a few interesting articles online, but not a book of the kind I wanted.
I had initially intended not to submit any of the poems to journals, as I intend to publish them as a collection. I did submit several to Umbrella for the special school subjects fall issue and had two accepted, and submitted five this past October to the winter issue of Cyclamens and Swords (yet to appear), as the theme, ticklish subjects, seemed another good fit. I've subbed a query to one publisher and had them reply asking for some sample poems, which I sent them, and am still waiting to hear back. I'm also working on a MG/YA novel about a girl who wants to go to Music camp, and continuing to write poetry.
There is, however, still that little voice that says I should write that non-fiction math book for kids I couldn't find.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Poetry anyone?
April is National Poetry Month. Follow me in four days for Author and Poet, Peggy Fieland, who will be sharing an article she wrote specifically for this month and one of her poems.
I dare you to write a poem after reading the article - Mrs. E :)
Books, Authors and Info! Join us during April.
I dare you to write a poem after reading the article - Mrs. E :)
Books, Authors and Info! Join us during April.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Support your local library update #5
I forgot to post last month, but I read "The Day the Music Died A Mystery" in February. For some odd reason, I didn't really check out a lot of books from the library last month. It comes and goes in spurts for me.
I checked out three books a couple of weeks ago (or maybe just last week, can't remember for sure) - Quest for a Maid (really difficult to get into), Charlie and the Chocolate Factore (again difficult to read since I've seen the movie and to me the movie was great) and The Chocolate Cat Caper (finished; it was an enjoyable book). I have three more coming, two more in the Chocoholics series and one in Deborah Sharp's series - Bauer Mysteries but I can't remember the main character's name.
So two finished to add to my list and two not finished this go round. I'll try to do better and keep my postings up-to-date for the library challenge - lol - E :)
I checked out three books a couple of weeks ago (or maybe just last week, can't remember for sure) - Quest for a Maid (really difficult to get into), Charlie and the Chocolate Factore (again difficult to read since I've seen the movie and to me the movie was great) and The Chocolate Cat Caper (finished; it was an enjoyable book). I have three more coming, two more in the Chocoholics series and one in Deborah Sharp's series - Bauer Mysteries but I can't remember the main character's name.
So two finished to add to my list and two not finished this go round. I'll try to do better and keep my postings up-to-date for the library challenge - lol - E :)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Foothills Writers' Guild Workshop and owls?
This weekend was the annual Foothills Writers' Guild workshop. Keynote speaker Friday night was Richard Speight and Saturday lunch was Edie Melson. Guest speakers included Pam Zollman (Children's author), Jill Jones (Therapist who uses poetry in her therapy), Christopher Branch (musician), and Jane Freidman was supposed to be there but apparently there was a problem with her flight on Thursday so she didn't get to make it this time (she's pretty awesome as she speaks about ways to market and network on the internet). So what do owls have to do with the Foothills Writers' Guild workshop?
We have owls on our property and I've heard them many times "hoot-hoot-hooting" but I've never seen them. The kids have made claims of seeing them before. When I was putting my stuff in my car Saturday morning to head to Anderson University (the place where we hold our conference every year), I heard several owls. Didn't really think about it until I was near the end of the driveway and one flew over my car. I looked to my passenger seat to get my camera and take a picture but had forgotten my camera. I turned my car around and came back to get it. By time I came outside, the owl had flown to a different tree. I saw him and snapped the following picture of him:
. Glory be. My first owl. After I snapped a second picture of him, he flew to another tree and lo and behold, a second owl flew up to the same area he was. They hoot-hoot-hooted at each for like 2 seconds and then they squawked like crazy birds. The second one flew away from the first one but in the same tree, just a couple of branches over.
Then the first one took off and flew to a tree closer to my driveway; the second one followed and I tried snapping a picture of the two of them on the same branch in that tree but I wasn't steady enough. While tryng to snap the two together, I heard another one to the side and glanced over and sure enough, a third one had flown into a tree but he was hidden; I didn't get to see him.
So my excursion to participate in the Foothills Writers' Guild workshop this past weekend was well worth getting up earlier than I'm used to as I got to finally see the owls on our property.
The workshops was awesome too. I sat in Richard's, Edie's and Pam's classes and then during Pam's second workshop, I wrangled my adopted daughter who is a student at AU to help me practice my workshop presentation I'll be doing at the homeschool conferences. She brought her boyfriend so I got to do it for an audience of 1 plus her since she had already done part of my presentation before (she's played the game before). After we had our refreshment break, they called some more friends in (four young ladies), and so I did my workshop presentation again for them. I found out that I was incorrect in my "Road Trip" game as there are possibly many more routes than the eight I had originally figured. Now I need to go through the game again and come up with all the possible ways to make it across the United States without entering any state more than once. Thanks to Jess and Vincent and all the young ladies at AU for helping me out.
So now you have it - Foothills Writers' Guild workshop and owls! - E :)
We have owls on our property and I've heard them many times "hoot-hoot-hooting" but I've never seen them. The kids have made claims of seeing them before. When I was putting my stuff in my car Saturday morning to head to Anderson University (the place where we hold our conference every year), I heard several owls. Didn't really think about it until I was near the end of the driveway and one flew over my car. I looked to my passenger seat to get my camera and take a picture but had forgotten my camera. I turned my car around and came back to get it. By time I came outside, the owl had flown to a different tree. I saw him and snapped the following picture of him:
. Glory be. My first owl. After I snapped a second picture of him, he flew to another tree and lo and behold, a second owl flew up to the same area he was. They hoot-hoot-hooted at each for like 2 seconds and then they squawked like crazy birds. The second one flew away from the first one but in the same tree, just a couple of branches over.Then the first one took off and flew to a tree closer to my driveway; the second one followed and I tried snapping a picture of the two of them on the same branch in that tree but I wasn't steady enough. While tryng to snap the two together, I heard another one to the side and glanced over and sure enough, a third one had flown into a tree but he was hidden; I didn't get to see him.
So my excursion to participate in the Foothills Writers' Guild workshop this past weekend was well worth getting up earlier than I'm used to as I got to finally see the owls on our property.
The workshops was awesome too. I sat in Richard's, Edie's and Pam's classes and then during Pam's second workshop, I wrangled my adopted daughter who is a student at AU to help me practice my workshop presentation I'll be doing at the homeschool conferences. She brought her boyfriend so I got to do it for an audience of 1 plus her since she had already done part of my presentation before (she's played the game before). After we had our refreshment break, they called some more friends in (four young ladies), and so I did my workshop presentation again for them. I found out that I was incorrect in my "Road Trip" game as there are possibly many more routes than the eight I had originally figured. Now I need to go through the game again and come up with all the possible ways to make it across the United States without entering any state more than once. Thanks to Jess and Vincent and all the young ladies at AU for helping me out.
So now you have it - Foothills Writers' Guild workshop and owls! - E :)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
A glimpse into my life
For more on what I've gone through over the past year and what's coming up in the future, stop over at Stephen Tremp's blog and leave a comment. I'd like to know what some of you writers go through during a typical day or month or whatever - E :)
Monday, March 08, 2010
From NaNo to published - A Gift From Above -
Heather Paye is my guest today. Let's find out how she went from a 30-day novel challenge to published. (Of note, Heather refers to NaNo as a contest, but it really is a challenge of oneself to prove you can write 50,000 words in 30 days. I've participated in NaNo as a cheerleader for my friends and actually did write a YA novel a couple of Novembers ago, which I'm hoping to edit and publish one of these days, but working on my 50-state stories is my main objective for the time being.)
So Heather, please tell us about your experience with NaNoWriMo that led to you becoming a published author:
When I heard of this contest called "NaNoWriMo" I decided to participate and write a 50,000 word novel in one month's time. After all, how hard could it be? I wrote a novel before, so writing another one wouldn't be too hard. Well, I found out it was no walk in the park, you'd be surprised at how often life hits you, and you spend every waking moment working on producing words that make sense. Anyways, I emerged victorious. At the beginning it was understood there were no prizes, just a little printable certificate and your rough draft for your novel. It turns out that the year that I participated each person who managed to write 50,000 words or more were to receive a free proof copy if they decided to self-publish their book. I had nothing to lose, so I went for it. I had six months to get this all done (there was an expiration date on the free proof copy coupon), so I worked away, and four months later we welcomed "A Gift From Above" to stores, a self-published gem. Today, the first novel that I wrote "The Jewel of Onsolot" is being prepared for publication at a traditional publisher. So you can see, I'm not so one-sided when it comes to publishers. Age has never really been an issue for me when it comes to publishing, as long as you're serious and you maintain a professional tone publishers will - and do - take you seriously.
I think that the publishing process is the same for both traditional and self-publishing, at least up to a certain point in the game anyways. Write the book, edit until your eyes fall out, put them back in, and edit some more. After that, you should search for publishers, either traditional or self-publishers, beware of vanity presses though, not that they're bad, but they require that you pay money (usually thousands) to get your book published. After deciding on a publisher then things take two different points. For traditional publishing, you just read the submission guidelines, gather everything you need, edit EVERYTHING, and then send it in. Traditional publishing takes patience and you should be a team player, even if you're not. For self-publishing, it's not quite so mellow, being the editors, illustrator, layout and design, marketer, it's all very time consuming. Never a dull moment though with so much to do. Either route you choose be sure to have a great marketing plan, in this economy, you'll need it. Get out a calendar and mark on each day what you'll do to promote your book, it does help.
"A Gift From Above" is doing alright swimming in this economy, but it could be doing better. Some months there are plenty of purchases, while others are quieter than empty fields. These days, people just won't buy a book that costs even $5 when they could buy some essential item they need to survive, like a loaf of bread. Unless you're doing really well, and there is a lot of buzz about your book, then your book won't be seeing so much buying action. Marketing is one of the hardest parts of publishing a book, because it is the longest, it is forever on going. I have found that "A Gift From Above" sells MUCH better in the public eye. I haven't found out why this is yet, possibly just because of the convenience of having the book right there and being able to take it home right away rather than waiting for it to ship or download.
For more on Heather and to order her books, you may go to the following:
Heather's blog
Heather's fan site
Heather's Createspace store
Amazon purchase link
Amazon kindle purchase link
So Heather, please tell us about your experience with NaNoWriMo that led to you becoming a published author:
When I heard of this contest called "NaNoWriMo" I decided to participate and write a 50,000 word novel in one month's time. After all, how hard could it be? I wrote a novel before, so writing another one wouldn't be too hard. Well, I found out it was no walk in the park, you'd be surprised at how often life hits you, and you spend every waking moment working on producing words that make sense. Anyways, I emerged victorious. At the beginning it was understood there were no prizes, just a little printable certificate and your rough draft for your novel. It turns out that the year that I participated each person who managed to write 50,000 words or more were to receive a free proof copy if they decided to self-publish their book. I had nothing to lose, so I went for it. I had six months to get this all done (there was an expiration date on the free proof copy coupon), so I worked away, and four months later we welcomed "A Gift From Above" to stores, a self-published gem. Today, the first novel that I wrote "The Jewel of Onsolot" is being prepared for publication at a traditional publisher. So you can see, I'm not so one-sided when it comes to publishers. Age has never really been an issue for me when it comes to publishing, as long as you're serious and you maintain a professional tone publishers will - and do - take you seriously. I think that the publishing process is the same for both traditional and self-publishing, at least up to a certain point in the game anyways. Write the book, edit until your eyes fall out, put them back in, and edit some more. After that, you should search for publishers, either traditional or self-publishers, beware of vanity presses though, not that they're bad, but they require that you pay money (usually thousands) to get your book published. After deciding on a publisher then things take two different points. For traditional publishing, you just read the submission guidelines, gather everything you need, edit EVERYTHING, and then send it in. Traditional publishing takes patience and you should be a team player, even if you're not. For self-publishing, it's not quite so mellow, being the editors, illustrator, layout and design, marketer, it's all very time consuming. Never a dull moment though with so much to do. Either route you choose be sure to have a great marketing plan, in this economy, you'll need it. Get out a calendar and mark on each day what you'll do to promote your book, it does help.
"A Gift From Above" is doing alright swimming in this economy, but it could be doing better. Some months there are plenty of purchases, while others are quieter than empty fields. These days, people just won't buy a book that costs even $5 when they could buy some essential item they need to survive, like a loaf of bread. Unless you're doing really well, and there is a lot of buzz about your book, then your book won't be seeing so much buying action. Marketing is one of the hardest parts of publishing a book, because it is the longest, it is forever on going. I have found that "A Gift From Above" sells MUCH better in the public eye. I haven't found out why this is yet, possibly just because of the convenience of having the book right there and being able to take it home right away rather than waiting for it to ship or download.For more on Heather and to order her books, you may go to the following:
Heather's blog
Heather's fan site
Heather's Createspace store
Amazon purchase link
Amazon kindle purchase link
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